1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sickbed, particularly to a sickbed for persons requiring long-term care.
2. Description of Related Art
Persons affected by bone fractures, spine injuries, concussions of the brain or persons in a vegetative state are unable to move and therefore have to stay in bed for extended periods. This easily leads to bedsore. Once sores or ulcers have occurred, not only the sick are suffering, but also nursing people have to carry a large burden.
Since people who are unable to move have to stay in bed most of the time, the design of beds is of great importance for patients and nursing people. Regular beds are not suitable for patients who are unable to move because of increased risk of bedsore and resulting higher nursing efforts.
Bedsore mainly develops because of pressure on the skin of the patient, poor blood circulation and insufficient ventilation, leading to damp heat and finally to ulcers. To prevent this, a nurse has to massage the skin of the patient from time to time to stimulate blood circulation. While for most patients a nurse is available, the rate of patients affected by sores or ulcers is still relatively high.
Feeding the patient with food or medicine, washing them or changing clothes requires to raise or to turn the body. For this purpose, beds driven electrically or by oil pressure have been developed, saving the nurse the effort to raise the upper body or to turn the body around manually. However, a sickbed has to perform several movements, which conventionally need several driving systems, making the sickbed expensive beyond the reach of a household of low income. Conventional sickbeds therefore do not solve the problem of sores and ulcers for simple hospitals and households of low income and cannot relieve patients bound to bed from suffering, nor facilitate nursing efforts.
The main object of the present invention is to provide a sickbed with improved ventilation, preventing pressure on the skin of the patient, such that bedsore or ulcers will not develop.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a sickbed, which helps to raise or turn the body of the patient to facilitate nursing efforts.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a sickbed with a simple structure and low cost.
The present invention can be more fully understood by reference to the following description and accompanying drawings.